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| Addie Hoyt Fargo |
Mystery of Addie Hoyt Fargo
Earlier this year, while cleaning her father's house following his death, architectural historian Rosemary Thornton came across a box of old photos. She was especially drawn to some pictures taken in the late 1800s, showing a Victorian mansion, a horse-drawn carriage and a young woman sitting in a chair. Thornton wondered about the identity of this woman, so she enlisted the help of her friend David Spriggs, a historian and genealogist. Spriggs found out that the pictures were of Enoch Fargo of Lake Mills, WI, and his socialite wife, Addie Hoyt Fargo. Thornton also learned that Addie was her great-great aunt.
Today, the mansion is a bed & breakfast. Thornton called Tom Boycks, co-owner of the Fargo Mansion Inn, to see if he would be interested in the photographs. It was then that Thornton learned about the mystery of Addie's death. The story goes that Addie had contracted diphtheria. Enoch Fargo called on Addie's cousin, Martha Hoyt, to be Addie's nursemaid. While Addie was recovering, it seems that Enoch and Martha fell in love. (Note: Enoch and Martha married seven months after Addie died.)
The cause of Addie's death had been disputed from the start. She had fallen ill, and in the afternoon of June 18, 1901, Dr. William Oatway was summoned. Oatway was the family doctor, a friend of Enoch Fargo, and he also served as Jefferson County's health officer. Later that night, shortly after telling her attendant that she was feeling better, Addie sprung up grabbing her throat, gasping that she was choking. She then fell back on her bed and, within minutes, died. Dr. Oatway signed the death certificate, listing the cause of death as diphtheria. As the county health officer, he also certified to the state health board that his own statement on the certificate was true and accurate.
Addie was quickly buried eight hours later, skipping the wake that would normally be expected of a wealthy member of the community. But how did Addie contract diphtheria? There is no record of diphtheria deaths in Lake Mills in 1901. Further, no one else living in the Fargo mansion (two daughters and two servants) had contracted this contagious disease. Although Dr.Oatway speculated that she caught it during a brief trip to Portage, WI, two weeks earlier, there is no record of the disease in Portage during that period. Then there is the matter of the burial permit, which was listed on the death certificate as permit #32. Ms. Thornton discovered via research in Lake Mills that permit #32 actually belonged to a woman buried nine months earlier. And why was there no quarantine or fumigation of the home, as required by law? Adding to the confusion, there were rumors that her husband had poisoned her with arsenic, and when that failed, shot her. Many, many questions have been raised, and Rosemary Thornton set out to find the answers. (To learn more about the discrepancies, please see to Ms. Thornton's blog.)
Ms. Thornton sought to have the grave exhumed, at her own expense. This was done on Nov. 3, 2011. Addie had been buried in a wooden coffin that was, surprisingly, buried 34" from the surface, rather than the expected depth of about six feet. This was above the frost line, and the coffin had deteriorated, collapsing and damaging the skeletal remains. The bones were removed, and sent to the medical examiner's office in Milwaukee. After examination, Addie's remains were moved to Rosemary Thornton's home in Virginia, to be given a Christian funeral.
Earlier this year, while cleaning her father's house following his death, architectural historian Rosemary Thornton came across a box of old photos. She was especially drawn to some pictures taken in the late 1800s, showing a Victorian mansion, a horse-drawn carriage and a young woman sitting in a chair. Thornton wondered about the identity of this woman, so she enlisted the help of her friend David Spriggs, a historian and genealogist. Spriggs found out that the pictures were of Enoch Fargo of Lake Mills, WI, and his socialite wife, Addie Hoyt Fargo. Thornton also learned that Addie was her great-great aunt.
Today, the mansion is a bed & breakfast. Thornton called Tom Boycks, co-owner of the Fargo Mansion Inn, to see if he would be interested in the photographs. It was then that Thornton learned about the mystery of Addie's death. The story goes that Addie had contracted diphtheria. Enoch Fargo called on Addie's cousin, Martha Hoyt, to be Addie's nursemaid. While Addie was recovering, it seems that Enoch and Martha fell in love. (Note: Enoch and Martha married seven months after Addie died.)
The cause of Addie's death had been disputed from the start. She had fallen ill, and in the afternoon of June 18, 1901, Dr. William Oatway was summoned. Oatway was the family doctor, a friend of Enoch Fargo, and he also served as Jefferson County's health officer. Later that night, shortly after telling her attendant that she was feeling better, Addie sprung up grabbing her throat, gasping that she was choking. She then fell back on her bed and, within minutes, died. Dr. Oatway signed the death certificate, listing the cause of death as diphtheria. As the county health officer, he also certified to the state health board that his own statement on the certificate was true and accurate.
Addie was quickly buried eight hours later, skipping the wake that would normally be expected of a wealthy member of the community. But how did Addie contract diphtheria? There is no record of diphtheria deaths in Lake Mills in 1901. Further, no one else living in the Fargo mansion (two daughters and two servants) had contracted this contagious disease. Although Dr.Oatway speculated that she caught it during a brief trip to Portage, WI, two weeks earlier, there is no record of the disease in Portage during that period. Then there is the matter of the burial permit, which was listed on the death certificate as permit #32. Ms. Thornton discovered via research in Lake Mills that permit #32 actually belonged to a woman buried nine months earlier. And why was there no quarantine or fumigation of the home, as required by law? Adding to the confusion, there were rumors that her husband had poisoned her with arsenic, and when that failed, shot her. Many, many questions have been raised, and Rosemary Thornton set out to find the answers. (To learn more about the discrepancies, please see to Ms. Thornton's blog.)
Ms. Thornton sought to have the grave exhumed, at her own expense. This was done on Nov. 3, 2011. Addie had been buried in a wooden coffin that was, surprisingly, buried 34" from the surface, rather than the expected depth of about six feet. This was above the frost line, and the coffin had deteriorated, collapsing and damaging the skeletal remains. The bones were removed, and sent to the medical examiner's office in Milwaukee. After examination, Addie's remains were moved to Rosemary Thornton's home in Virginia, to be given a Christian funeral.
(continued... Medical Examiner's Conclusion)
Fargo Mansion
This past summer, I went to Lake Mills, a small town here in Jefferson County, Wisconsin. It’s a pleasant town with some distinctive old buildings, and my goal was to take some pictures. This lovely old mansion was pointed out to me (scroll down to July 25 for larger photo). This is the Fargo mansion, which had been renovated and is now a bed & breakfast. It turns out that not only does this building have a history, but a mystery as well!
In 1896, the wealthy Enoch Fargo (aged 48) bought and remodeled the building that came to be known as the Fargo Mansion. He married 24 year-old Addie Hoyt that same year. This was Enoch’s second marriage. His first wife, Mary Rutherford, died the previous year at the age of 38. The cause of her death is unclear.
On June 19, 1901, 29 year-old Addie died. She had reportedly become ill with diphtheria and died within hours of exhibiting the first symptoms. The fact that Addie was a young and reasonably healthy woman makes this unlikely.
At the turn of the 20th century, diphtheria had a low mortality rate, resulting in deaths mainly of the very young and very old.
Dr. William H. Oatway, an acquaintance of Enoch, was summoned to the Fargo mansion upon Addies death, and was reportedly bribed to list the cause as diphtheria. Addie was hurriedly buried less than eight hours after her death. According to two published reports, as well as local lore, Addie had actually died of a gunshot wound to the head, and Dr. Oatway was generously rewarded for falsifying the death certificate. Not only are there errors and incomplete information on the death certificate, but it is said that Dr. Oatway confessed on his death bed that he falsified Addie’s death certificate.
Why Enoch would kill Addie is a matter of speculation. Was a divorce threatened, causing Enoch to fear that he would lose some of his wealth? Did he grow tired of Addie, and want the marriage to end without the legal complications of divorce? Whatever the case, Enoch married for a third time within months of Addie’s sudden death, taking the young Maddie as his bride
This is a complicated story that gets no less complicated after Addie died. There are
questions, for example, about whether Addie had actually been buried in the Lake Mills grave that bears her name. As I understand it, there is currently some interest in exhuming her grave to see if a body is actually there, and if so, to see if there is a gunshot wound to the skull. Either way, guests at the Fargo Mansion Inn have reported seeing the sad ghost of Addie walking along the upstairs hallway and sitting in her bedroom.
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| Fargo mansion |
This past summer, I went to Lake Mills, a small town here in Jefferson County, Wisconsin. It’s a pleasant town with some distinctive old buildings, and my goal was to take some pictures. This lovely old mansion was pointed out to me (scroll down to July 25 for larger photo). This is the Fargo mansion, which had been renovated and is now a bed & breakfast. It turns out that not only does this building have a history, but a mystery as well!
In 1896, the wealthy Enoch Fargo (aged 48) bought and remodeled the building that came to be known as the Fargo Mansion. He married 24 year-old Addie Hoyt that same year. This was Enoch’s second marriage. His first wife, Mary Rutherford, died the previous year at the age of 38. The cause of her death is unclear.
On June 19, 1901, 29 year-old Addie died. She had reportedly become ill with diphtheria and died within hours of exhibiting the first symptoms. The fact that Addie was a young and reasonably healthy woman makes this unlikely.
At the turn of the 20th century, diphtheria had a low mortality rate, resulting in deaths mainly of the very young and very old.
Dr. William H. Oatway, an acquaintance of Enoch, was summoned to the Fargo mansion upon Addies death, and was reportedly bribed to list the cause as diphtheria. Addie was hurriedly buried less than eight hours after her death. According to two published reports, as well as local lore, Addie had actually died of a gunshot wound to the head, and Dr. Oatway was generously rewarded for falsifying the death certificate. Not only are there errors and incomplete information on the death certificate, but it is said that Dr. Oatway confessed on his death bed that he falsified Addie’s death certificate.
Why Enoch would kill Addie is a matter of speculation. Was a divorce threatened, causing Enoch to fear that he would lose some of his wealth? Did he grow tired of Addie, and want the marriage to end without the legal complications of divorce? Whatever the case, Enoch married for a third time within months of Addie’s sudden death, taking the young Maddie as his bride
This is a complicated story that gets no less complicated after Addie died. There are
questions, for example, about whether Addie had actually been buried in the Lake Mills grave that bears her name. As I understand it, there is currently some interest in exhuming her grave to see if a body is actually there, and if so, to see if there is a gunshot wound to the skull. Either way, guests at the Fargo Mansion Inn have reported seeing the sad ghost of Addie walking along the upstairs hallway and sitting in her bedroom.
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